Open Forest of Life

[Senju Akio]

Akio ran through thickets and dodged trees, his footfalls barely louder than the softest pats against the moss-covered earth, their sound intermixing with the countless chirps of birds, hums of bugs, and soft rustles of flowing leaves. Many wouldn't expect a child as young as he to wander off into the infamous 'Forest of Death' without a chaperone. However, this place was not the same thing to Akio that it was to so many who heard its frightful moniker. After all, he'd grown up surrounded by nature, guided by his Senju clansmen and especially his grandfather, to know and respect the trees, animals, and even spirits that found their places within it. No, to Akio this place was not a place of death. It was a Forest of Life.

Swiftly and silently he dashed, breezing past leaves and bushes that blew as though in a breeze when he rushed by. The young Senju's pace and the focus he placed on trying to be as quiet as he could that made it clear this was no mere stroll. In fact, the boy had a very specific destination in mind. It was one of the last afternoons before his first day at the Academy, the day he'd start growing into the shinobi he was just a sapling of in the present. Even while wandering in the forest, the thing he loved most, he was trying to learn and practice and get better as a shinobi. And after his latest lesson with grandpa Itsuki, he was eager to see how another young sapling was faring. After a couple minutes' sprint, Akio came upon a small clearing, the foliage-covered ground dancing with the daylight that cascaded through the soft canopy of leaves overhead. In the center, where the most light shone, stood a patch of soft recently-turned earth. Out of the loamy soil poked a tiny green stem, the beginnings of an orange tree, one he'd planted after a meal a couple months prior.

"Ahh!!" Akio exclaimed excitedly, raising his arms and jumping in a couple jubilant hops. "I just knew you'd sprout! You're looking sooo~ healthy!" He gushed, speaking kindness to the baby orange tree as he knelt down and examined the minute pair of leaves that extended from the earth. The young boy carefully tilled the soft dirt around the petite sapling, turning it slightly as he sprinkled in some of his grandfather's secret fertilizer recipe. To him it definitely had an odd smell, and he didn't know what it was made of, but it always seemed to work in the past. He removed a small band of cloth from his arm, soaked it in the leather flask at his side, and squeezed out droplets of water to let the mixture flow into the loosened earth, then softly pressed the dirt around the sapling to ensure it was well-anchored. 'Moving towards oranges...' Akio thought, his grandfather's wise words echoing in his mind as he lovingly tended to the plant whose destiny seemed not so different than his own.

[MFT] .:. [504 words]

 

[Sazuki Nao]

A creature cloaked loomed to the child that was in the woods. It followed it quietly while notifing the Sennin of the pressense of the child. Nao sighed as he got it through his telepathic connection to the contract.

Out of the darkenss, the child could notice a set of glowing yellow eyes before it would step out of the shadows. Dressed in old cloth clothing which are tattered and thorn. Some places even patched up with a discolored patch and a hood on top. His face is hidden in a shroud of darkness, and parts of his humanoid body are small and bandaged. One arm is pitch black and doesn't even look human to the least. It is shadowly and holds longer fingers almost like claws. The floating orbs you see are presumingly his eyes.
"Well well well, aren't you in a forbidden place?" It cackled as it questioned the person, almost same height as his own. "My master soon will be here, and you will be in trouble, in trouble" It chimed as it kept it's eyes on the small figure and indeed soon a person landed near him. "Ibis, please tell me this isn't another jok--" Nao halted in his words as he looked towards the child. "Oh boy..." he sighed loudly and would pinch the bridge of his nose. "Name and rank please." he said firm and would then tell his own. " Sazuki Nao, Medical Sennin." He didn't look too pleased to the child. "Why are you here exactly?"

 

[Senju Akio]

A flash of yellow caught young Akio's eye as he stood from his diligent work nursing the itsy sapling. His instincts told him that any number of animals could've been around, but this was no animal. It was something... unnatural. Surprise at seeing the eyes glowing in darkness, especially in the middle of the day, was clearly painted on the young Senju's face. The Forest was known for being thick and the canopy sometimes fully covered the sun, cloaking parts of it in darkness, but this was near a clearing and the unnatural effect of the darkness that followed Ibis left an odd pit in Akio's stomach.

Akio's eyes tightened, his brow furrowing as he regarded the strange creature as it called out to him, "Well well well, aren't you in a forbidden place?" As the strange creature approached, Akio jumped to his feet, and yelled, "Stop! Don't take another step towards me!" One might've expected this to be caused by the fear the child of ten must have been feeling in this moment, but instead of moving back, Akio jumped forward and placed himself between the oddity and the seedling he'd been so tenderly tending to. "My master soon will be here, and you will be in trouble, in trouble." Ibis continued. The odd repeating cadence and the thought that the shade provoked brought an instinctual shudder that coursed through Akio's body. 'What sort of master has a minion like this?' He wondered. "Just stay where you are!" The boy barked.

His inner question was soon answered as the Medical Sennin of Leaf silently landed in the clearing and conversed with his contract before looking toward the young Senju. Stepping over the tiny plant and keeping it in the gap between his feet to make sure it wouldn't get trampled, he looked between the two figures, both unknown to him. "Name and rank please. Sazuki Nao, Medical Sennin." While Akio had heard stories of Nao's expertise and status as the head of Konohagakure's medical branch, he had never actually seen the man's face. He gulped and his eyes went wide as he worked up the courage to reply. "Senju Akio. No rank, but I'll be an Academy Student soon." He answered, the normal hint of nervousness in his voice that was a common quality he had when facing his elders was certainly enhanced when facing the man that led the branch he one day hoped to be a part of.

The first question was quickly followed by a second. "Why are you here exactly?" Nao asked. Akio quickly shook the look of nervous worry from himself and answered, "I come out here all the time, Sazuki-sama." The young boy was not particularly well-practiced when it came to social situations, but he knew that he should address the man who stood before him with respect. "I am Senju, and this clearing is my garden." He continued, not yet having the confidence to say what his grandfather once did to him: That if Konohagakure is our house, then this whole forest is our garden.

 

[Sazuki Nao]

Hearing how this person answered, made him sigh even more and he wished he heard this wrong. He reached for his pocket and grabbed a pack of smokes out to give himself a cigarette. The small yokai started to dance behind Nao leaving the opening between the two. "You are aware that what you are doing is forbidden for many reasons?" He questioned the child before summing up the law. " The Forest of Death is normally only accessible by Chuunin and above; however, academy students and/or Genin may be accompanied into the Forest of Death by Chuunin or above supervision. Failure to follow this law will result in detention for the students as well as a punishment mission." He summed up as he looked down to his Yokai who seemed to find it all too funny.

"Now... You are either very dense or just plain stupid to enter the forest of death.. were massive beats and death and declay lay everywhere since the recent attacks." He spoke all the time with a soft tune yet it held a hint of dissapointment. " I do not know how you are still alive as you see this as your backgarden... But if I will catch you here again the consequense will be a lot worse." Nao crossed his arms. "For now, you get 10 hours detention intotal, each day 1 hour extra after your academy time's roster along with a mission of cleaning the Inuzuka ranch... If I catch you here again..." He would leave it open for his interperation.

Nao's Yokai started to wonder in the forest again, looking for monsters and other children who were 'lost'.

 

[Senju Akio]

Akio's expression quickly filled with the telltale signs of a child's sadness. His eyes welled and a soft pouty frown appeared on his lips. But he was not dejected because of the punishment that would be placed upon him. Even cleaning up the Inuzuka ranch, a task most children would dread, was an opportunity in his eyes. He loved to be near animals and maybe he could even make some fertilizer. No, his sadness was caused by what Nao had told him of the state of the forest. He'd come here countless times as a child with his elderly grandfather Itsuki, a former Jounin of the village, and it had always been a place of wonder and life in the young boy's eyes. And while it had been a couple months since he'd last been here to plant the seeds he was now checking on, he'd never seen sign of the death and decay the Sennin spoke of.

"Yes sir..." He'd reply, accepting the consequences for his forbidden actions. "But... I have a question Sazuki-sama. What did you mean by 'death and decay'...? I mean... I've been here lots of times with grandpa and I always knew there were big animals and creatures here, but this is a forest. Even if it has that scary name, it's not supposed to be a place of death..." The young Senju asked, parroting the terror that the med-nin Sennin had implied. The boy's sadness was clearly present in his tone, but turned to resolve as he continued, "Isn't it Konoha's job to protect these woods? Are we gonna fix it?" The boy looked up at Nao through tear-soaked eyes, his expression almost pleading as he awaited the Sennin's response.

 

[Sazuki Nao]

Nao was a little at a loss to reply to this. 'Just... how dense is this child? Has he not seen all the wounded lately?' Slowly nao started to tilt his head as he looked at the young one. Puzzling as to how he could even bring it across. Part of him wondered how and if he could even do that. His yokai was already away, but he knew easily now where the bigger monsters were, and maybe some children had to see before they knew.

"You know what... Jump on my back, if anything happens I can easily defend the both of us that way." He would wait till the child was on his back, using his arms to carry the child a bit as he started to leap for the trees and go from tree branch to tree branch until he landed back on the ground with a thud. Right now, the stench would slowly spread. "A lot of things die here, a lot of things are born here, a lot of things are made here..." He tried to subtly lay the hint of being made. He still remembered the odd creature he had fought there. "At the tree there, the one with the three gashes. Two shinobi died." He simply said before walking over to where still a carcass of a beast lay. "There is a solid reason that low-ranked, sorry to say, not strong persons aren't allowed here. Even high-ranked shinobi need to be ready for everything."

He then walked to where a recent battle had been. "A lot of it is burned to crisps on this part. We already lay some soil on top of it to help it heal. Which is why..." he then would run to a part of the forest where young and new trees were already growing, a part of the soil beside was being made to be better feed for the trees. "This is also around. I hope I showed you as to why it is off-limits and as to why you get detention... I rather not have to bury another child."

Spoiler: OOC OK

 

[Senju Akio]

The child's sheltered and unaware perspective was on full display as he tested the patience of the Sennin's perspective, but it was clear that his frustration with the state of the forest came from a place of compassion and caring for the land that he'd grown up loving. As he hopped up on Nao's back, being taken to the sites of destruction that showed clear proof of the danger that lurked within the forest in recent times, the young Senju couldn't help but feel a deep sadness. His grandfather had told him stories of his own youth, of a time when the now-old man would spend countless hours beneath the grand canopy of the village's most famous forest, of a time when things were certainly more peaceful than they were now.

As the two came to a stop at the site of two shinobi's demise, the sight caused the young boy to look away, not being able to fully comprehend the tragedy that entailed at his young age and subconsciously not wanting to fill his mind with images of the now-rotting monster that still laid in the aftermath of that encounter. But this was no simple creature, it was... unnatural. Surely the chakra-infused flora played a part in the sheer size of some of the animals that made this forest their home, but Nao's subtle words made clear that this was not the natural order of birth and death. This beast was something else entirely. "Made...?" Akio asked, mostly to himself as he regarded the massive claw-marks. "Who would make creatures like that?"

As the white-haired shinobi continued, speaking about his relative lack of strength, Akio's brow furrowed. He didn't like being called weak more than any shinobi did, but he had enough self-awareness to know that he was like the seedling he'd planted. Fragile and young, barely starting to see the clarifying light of the real world that existed beyond the walls of the Senju clan complex. 'I might be small now, but I won't always be. I'm gonna keep growing...' He thought, placating the feelings of helplessness that invaded his psyche.

Before long the two had reached another location that had recently been rife with battle, the trees and plants burnt in a wide area. Somehow this scene hit Akio harder than even the final resting place of two of Leaf's shinobi. His grandpa had explained to him the concept of ecological succession, and he knew full well that when wildfires come through, the forest often recovered to even greater heights than it first started. But he couldn't help but feel a bit forlorn at the fact that all this destruction didn't come from a place of wardenship or protection, but of conflict and peoples' incessant will to cause chaos amongst themselves. Nevertheless, he could easily see that the village had planted new trees, spread seeds to encourage new growth, and had not left the place fully tarnished. Before long it would be back to the lush landscape that surrounded the ashen remnants of the blaze. Still, to Akio it didn't seem enough.

"I understand Nao-sensei... I won't come here alone until I'm allowed." Akio answered solemnly in response to the Sennin's hopes that the young shinobi-to-be understood the seriousness of what he was being punished for. "I'm ready to go home..." The young Senju added. The stern look on the boy's face was almost comical. His soft child-like features weren't made to look so serious. However, it was clear that he was trying to understand his place in all this injustice. Within himself, somewhere deep, he resolved that he would be part of the solution to this preternatural state that the forest found itself in. Detention, punishment, shame at having already broken the rules even before his first day... those were replaced by a strong sense of purpose and a reason for him to focus on his learning and training in the weeks and months to come.

[MFT] .:. [656 Words]

 

[Sazuki Nao]

He had been showing the young one everything regards of these woods, but also the reason he shouldn't be going near. A lot of the children in the academy were already not acting like a regular children.. so he knew that they could handle a whole lot on the mind. This seemed to be the case when in the end the child seemed to have had enough.

"Please don't see this as a punishment for me showing you these. But I want you to see as why this is no small and happy garden. We have a lot of garden space inside the walls where it is safe. If you wish to, I can even show you the botanical gardens of the Byoin at some point. "He offered something int he hopes to light up their spirits a little bit.

After he brought him back to the entrance of the forest, his Yokai came from the shadows and cackled just a little. "I get it Ibis." he spoke to the contract who went back into the shadows where you could only see the orbs of his eyes hanging around. "I often have Ibis lurking in the forest to see when children are around. I hate to bury another one... All of you young ones are amazing so far, and I am pretty sure each and every one of you will outgrow us.

 

[Senju Akio]

As the Medical Sennin explained their reasoning for showing young Akio those tough-to-swallow sights that were held within the forest, Akio began to understand. "I understand Sennin. Actually... Thank you. I know sometimes I can be thick-headed. But I guess I just wanted to believe that this forest was the place of Life that I believe that it can be." The boy replied in an uncharacteristic moment of self-awareness. When Nao added, " I can even show you the botanical gardens of the Byoin at some point." Akio's distinguishing bright smile was revived on his innocent face. "Really!? I'd love to!" Akio said cheerfully. "I..." Akio started to add, his expression shifting to a slightly sheepish one. "I actually wanna be a Med-nin someday, so I've spent some time there already. But it would be sooo cool to see them with you, Nao-sama." He said, forcing past his initial somewhat shy nervousness.

Akio had always been a bit out of his element around authority figures, but Nao showed a compassion and value for life that he couldn't help but feel a magnetism towards. As Ibis reappeared with a scary-sounding laugh, Akio shuddered once more, but the young Senju was somewhat comforted by the Medical Sennin's casual reaction to the contract he held. And as Nao mentioned not wanting to bury another child, Akio couldn't help but look down. The idea that he'd worried the Sennin made a sense of shame bubble within the boy. "I'm sorry for worrying you Nao-sama..." He said, not yet brave enough to ask about the loss that the head of Leaf's Medical Branch had experienced in the past. And finally, as Nao mentioned the class of students that he was soon to be a part of, that shame was quelled, and once again that tell-tale smile of a boy filled with optimistic idealism reappeared on Akio's face. "Thanks again Sennin Nao. I can't wait to see the botanical garden sometime!" The sunny Senju said with a wave, and as the two of them exited the Forest of Death, Akio was infinitely excited for the future and everything that held: lessons, friends, and most of all growth.

[Topic Left Unless Stopped]

 

[Sazuki Nao]

He offered the other a show around the herbal glass house of the byoin, and it seemed like it was a good thing to offer too. The child seemed to be a lot happier now than he was before. "On wednesday and tuesday morning I am always off work, all the other days you can just come in and ask for me to go into them. I have the keys of a few empty ones if you wish to have your own. But then you will need to promise me something." He would chuckle and leave it at that. "but that is for the next time you will come over to see me. For now, please take care." He would comment and watch the young child go home?

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